The Inventor, the Hunter, and the Apple
by NutsandVolts
Summary: ONESHOT: Beetee makes the dreadful mistake of labeling Gale's archery skills as "almost as good as Katniss's," so Gale shows him exactly how incomparable he is with a bow.


**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Hunger Games trilogy or the legend of William Tell. **

**A/N: I was listening to the Coldplay song _Clocks _and was greeted with this idea! I don't often write Gale, but I had to do this. :) I did my best to keep him—and Katniss—in-character, but since I write them so little, that'd be why they're OOC if they are. Read and review, please!**

**Hugs,**

**Wendy**

His muscles stiff from lack of movement, Gale stood and stretched beside the worktable he and Beetee were hunched over. He knew working in Special Defense with Beetee was probably the best use of his talents, but the hunter was not used to sitting so much. Beetee looked up as Gale headed for the door, and, on a whim, the inventor followed. "Where are you going?" he inquired.

"Could we go to Special Weaponry for a while, train with some of the archery weapons?" The question was pointless, as Gale was already heading in that direction. Beetee chuckled.

"Bored already, eh?"

"Not bored. I just need to move." The hunter and his bespectacled counterpart reached the guarded entrance to Special Weaponry. After repeated identification checks, the two were permitted to enter District 13's vast arsenal of weapons. Immediately, Gale sprinted over to the wall of archery weapons and selected his bow, adorned with a scope and a wide assortment of gadgetry. A target had been left from the last time he and Katniss trained down here, so Gale simply retrieved the quivers of arrows Beetee specially designed—some incendiary, some razor-sharp, even some explosive—and began to shoot. He missed occasionally, but for every ten arrows he shot, eight hit the center.

Impressed, Beetee eyed Gale from beneath his crooked glasses and said, "You're quite the marksman, Gale. Almost as good as Katniss herself, I'd say."

His eyes widening, Gale lowered his weapon and turned to Beetee in disbelief. "What?"

"I said that you're quite the marksman," Beetee repeated, cocking his head in askance.

"No, the other part."

"Oh, yes. I'd say that you're almost as good as Katniss when it comes to shooting," he clarified.

Laughing, Gale said, "You're sorely mistaken, Beetee. I mean no disrespect toward Catnip—as she's an amazing shot—but I think you'll find I'm a bit better." He loaded his bow with another arrow and shot it at the target. It lodged itself into the outer ring, and Beetee chuckled. "That proves nothing," Gale insisted. "It takes more than aim to be a good shot."

"I understand that it's in our, ah, nature," said Beetee, "as men to want to surpass females in such masculine endeavors as shooting, but it's easy to see that, while you're an excellent shot, you simply aren't as skilled as Katniss. I'm sorry."

Gale narrowed his eyes. Oblivious to his expression, Beetee turned and waved Gale forward. "I think we best be getting back to work."

Grumbling, Gale replaced the bow, collected the arrows, and followed.

* * *

Gale pondered it during lunch. Was Katniss really a better shot than he was? Sure, she was a bit more accurate on occasion, but he was probably just out of practice. When she sat beside him, Gale said, "Hey, Catnip? Mind if I ask a question?"

"Go ahead," she answered, sinking her teeth into a buttered roll. Fresh food shipments had arrived that morning, and Greasy Sae, a cook from 12, was sure to include butter with the bread. It was easy to see that the simple luxury was enough to improve everyone's mood.

"Who's a better shot with a bow, me or you?"

Katniss arched her eyebrows, swallowed, and wiped her lip. "Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering."

"I guess you?" She shrugged. "I never really thought about it, to be honest."

Slightly dejected, Gale picked up his spoon to eat his fish and beet stew, but suddenly, as Katniss was about to begin devouring her apple, he got an idea. "Are you gonna eat that, Catnip?"

Her gray eyes narrowed as she lowered the apple. "Well, I _was_," she said, holding out the apple, "but if you want it, take it." Katniss didn't want to give up her food so willingly, but Gale had sacrificed parts of his meals to her before and it seemed rude not to return the favor.

"Thanks," said Gale, closing his fingers around the apple. As he stood to leave, he said, "You can have my stew if you want."

Enthusiastically, Katniss accepted his gift and smiled as he poured his stew into her bowl. "Have I ever told you how wonderful you were?" she cooed.

He rolled his eyes. "You could stand to mention it more, Catnip. See you later."

"Bye," she said, already sticking the spoon in her mouth. Things weren't always harmonious between them as of late, but when things were good, they were pretty good, Gale thought.

* * *

The apple in hand, Gale retrieved an ordinary bow and arrows from Special Weaponry before creeping into the workroom where Beetee was, hunched over the table and sketching something with a mechanical pencil. The guards deemed him trustworthy and believed him when he explained of his desire to test its properties compared with bows made of different materials. His heart pounding, Gale quietly rested the bow by the door, slung the quiver of arrows over his shoulder, and crept up behind Beetee on hunter's feet. The inventor remained ignorant of his presence and only paused to scratch his chin with the eraser of his pencil. He was so deep in thought that he didn't even noticed when Gale rested the apple on his head. The red stood out from his dark hair and made an easy target. He'd have to be blind to miss.

Silently, Gale returned to the doorway, retrieved his bow, loaded it, and pointed it at the apple sitting atop the inventor's head. Everything was still. It was like he was in the woods again.

Gale released the string.

His arrow whizzed through the air, impaled the apple, and lodged itself into the wall. The force of the shot was enough to slice the apple cleanly in half, and in alarm, Beetee cried, "Sparks!"

Gale laughed as Beetee turned to him, his eyes wide, and then moved his dark-eyed gaze to the arrow and demolished apple sitting before him. Realizing what Gale had done, he sank back onto the workbench and seemed faint as he whispered, "Did you just shoot an _apple _off my head?"

"Yes," Gale admitted, still chuckling. Beetee's pale face turned white.

"Gale, what if you'd missed? You could've killed me!" Beetee said accusingly. He was still faint.

"You're lucky I didn't miss, then," Gale replied with a grin as he collected the arrow and remains of the apple. Since he'd learned long ago how precious food was, he simple rubbed the apple half against his shirt before popping it into his mouth. Still chewing, he said, "Who's the better marksman now, Beetee?"

Laughing, he joined his still-traumatized partner at the worktable and slid the sketch between them to resume their work.

**Well, what do you think? I don't often write Gale and I never write Katniss, but I did my best to keep them both in-character. :) Did I succeed? Be sure to leave a review!**

**Hugs,**

**Wendy**


End file.
